Official Poster and Finalized Schedule for Duluth Dylan Fest 2021

Last year was a strange year for Duluth Dylan Fest as the Covid pandemic produced as tsunami of cancelled gatherings here, there and everywhere. In the Twin Ports there was no Blues Fest, no Grandma's Marathon, no Homegrown Music Festival, no DuSu Film Festival. On and on and on and on things were turned off and off and off. As for Duluth Dylan Fest, the weeklong celebration was stripped down to five online streaming events, and it failed to have the feel of anything that came before. 

2021 is more hopeful. It's a full schedule again. And even if portions are virtual, there will still be a few live experiences where we can meet face to face. Bob Dylan will turn 80th birthday year, and it would be unacceptable to do anything less that to produce a full schedule once again.

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Here's the poster (above) with all our scheduled events. Click to enlarge or read the schedule as outlined below.

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Duluth Dylan Fest kicks off on Saturday, May 22nd. A mainly virtual festival is planned this year with a few in-person events which will require masks and social distancing following CDC Guidelines.

FESTIVAL LINEUP

Saturday, May 22

Tour of Bob Dylan Sites in Duluth
Armory Arts & Music Center Annex
1305 London Road, Duluth
9:00 AM | Free

Highway 61 Revisited Radio Show
KUMD 103.3 FM
5:00-6:00 PM | Free

Bob Dylan Revue Livestream Concert from Sacred Heart Music Center
Streaming link to come
7:00-8:30 PM

Sunday, May 23

Dylan Fest Acoustic Jam Session
with host Leslie Black
Bring your instruments and/or voice
Earth Rider Festival Field
1617 N 3rd St., Superior, WI
1:00-4:00 PM | Tickets on Eventbrite

Hard Rain: Bob Dylan and The Band Tribute Band 
Livestream from the Sky Line Lounge in Ballwin, MO
Streaming link to come
7:00-9:00 PM | Free

Monday, May 24

Bob Dylan Front Porch Birthday Party 

with live music by Greg Tiburzi
Dylan childhood home
519 N. 3rd Ave. East. Duluth
1:00-2:00 PM | Free

Highway 61 Revisited Radio Show
KUMD 103.3 FM
5:00-6:00 PM | Free

Duluth Dylan Fest Party
With music by Cowboy Angel Blue
Earth Rider Festival Field
1617 N 3rd St., Superior, WI
5:00-8:00 PM | Tickets on Eventbrite

Tuesday, May 25

Duluth Dylan Fest Song From the North Country Songwriter Contest Announcement
Live on Zoom
7:00-7:30 PM | Free

Wednesday, May 26

Dylan Fest Poetry Contest Event
Livestream via Zoom
6:30-8:00 PM | Free

Greg Tiburzi Sings Dylan
Valentini’s Bistro
4960 Miller Trunk Hwy, Duluth,
6:00-8:00 PM

Thursday, May 27

Dylan Fest Livestream from 2104 with Luke LeBlanc
6:30-8:00 PM | Free

Friday, May 28

Duluth Does Dylan Concert
Earth Rider Fest Grounds
1617 N 3rd St., Superior, WI
6:00-9:00 PM | Tickets on Eventbrite

Saturday, May 29

John Bushey Memorial Lecture
featuring Dave Engel, author of Just Like Bob Zimmerman’s Blues: Dylan in Minnesota Livestream from the Zeitgeist Teatro Zuccone
Streaming link to come
1:30–3:00 PM | Free

Highway 61 Revisited Radio Show
KUMD 103.3 FM
5:00-6:00 PM | Free

Bob Dylan Revue Concert
Earth Rider Festival Field
1617 N 3rd St., Superior, WI
6:00-9:00 PM | Tickets on Eventbrite for limited in-person show

Sunday, May 30

Song From the North Country Songwriter Contest Showcase
featuring Shane Nelson
Earth Rider Fest Grounds
1617 N 3rd St., Superior, WI
2:00-4:00 PM | Tickets on Eventbrite

Dylan Fest Livestream with Danny Fox
Streaming link to come
5:30-6:30 PM | Free

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If you are able to attend, great! If unable to attend in person, the streaming events will welcome you. 

My first interview with a cardboard cutout of Bob Dylan. 
He didn't say much, so I put words in his mouth.

Change has been a recurring theme in Dylan's work. As he observed in the 60's, "The Times They Are A-Changin'." And as his Oscar winning Wonder Boys song exclaimed, "Times have changed."

Eric Hoffer wrote a book about the challenges of change, titled The Ordeal of Change. Some of that ordeal has to do with our ability to adapt. It is natural to resist change, especially when we don't understand it. 

Andy Grove, founder of Intel, wrote a book for business leaders title Only the Paranoid Survive. I believe the message is applicable to all of us, though. A certain amount of anxiety is OK. 

Are we experiencing a changing of the guard? What does the future hold?

Well, for now, in May we have scheduled a weeklong festival honoring Duluth's Native Son. There may be some interesting surprises unveiled, but for now this is the schedule for the week. We hope you will join us.